


Merry Christmas, Honoka!

by holographics



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Minor appearances from the rest of μ's, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-21 21:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13152162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holographics/pseuds/holographics
Summary: Honoka, Umi, and Kotori get together to celebrate Christmas. Little does Honoka know there's more at play than she realizes. This is a Secret Santa gift for @lighkoda on Tumblr! I hope you like it. :>





	Merry Christmas, Honoka!

“Would you like some hot chocolate while you wait, Honoka?”

“Sure!”

Both Honoka and Yukiho had finally begun their winter holiday break from school, and Honoka was excited to finally have some time off. She had planned to have Umi and Kotori over later today to exchange Christmas presents, and was bouncing in her seat waiting for her friends to arrive. To try and speed up the time, she pestered Yukiho who was in the kitchen preparing lunch. She whined that time was going by too slow and that she wanted her friends to be here already! Honoka was so excited to see her friends and give them their gifts that she worked so hard to procure. Umi’s was probably the hardest to get since she was really hard to shop for, but Kotori’s was equally as amazing. Honoka had worked hard at Homura to earn an allowance big enough so that she could spoil both her friends. 

She had bought presents for all of μ's of course, but Honoka put extra thought into her gifts for Kotori and Umi due to their long and intimate friendship.

When Yukiho finished cooking lunch, she served both herself and her sister a warm meal of chicken fried rice and hot chocolate. She had put in a plethora of small rainbow marshmallows in both their cups, which stood out in the dark brown drink. 

“Thank you, Yukiho! Let's eat!!” Honoka exclaimed, excitedly readying her chopsticks. 

Yukiho giggled, amused by Honoka’s ever present giddiness over something so small. “Let's eat!”

Not long after the two began to eat, their mother walked in, donned in work attire and a tired expression. When she saw her two daughters eating lunch, she smiled, her expression softening. 

“Did you two save me any?” She asked. 

Yukiho finished chewing and answered with a smile. “Of course mama! Help yourself. There's also hot chocolate if you'd like any.”

With Yukiho averting her attention back to her meal, her mother grabbed a plate from the cupboard and scooped out some fried rice from the wok. She also poured herself some of the hot drink in a mug she took out from the cupboard. 

After grabbing some chopsticks, she sat down next to Honoka at the kitchen table. 

“Thank you for the food!” She proclaimed before readying herself to eat. 

The three ate in silence, each too busy stuffing their faces with rice to chat. Honoka was the first to finish, but remained seated while her family finished eating. She took small sips of hot chocolate since it was still pretty warm. The marshmallows brushed her lips as she drank, tickling her. 

When both Yukiho and her mother finished, everyone got up to clean their dishes and put them away. 

“Well, I should get back to work.” Their mother whined. “Have a good day with Umi and Kotori, sweetheart.” 

Honoka nodded, grinning. “I will! Don't overwork yourself mama!”

With mama gone, Yukiho began to clean up, putting the leftover fried rice in containers and cleaning the wok. Honoka guzzled down the final sips of her hot chocolate, when her phone suddenly buzzed with a new message. 

It was from Umi. 

“ _ Kotori and I may be a bit late, the snow is making it difficult to travel. _ ”

Pondering, Honoka walked to the kitchen window and looked outside. It had begun to snow pretty heavily, making it difficult to see long distances. The wind howled, and Honoka began to worry about her friends.

Yukiho approached her after finishing with clean up. “Are they going to be okay?”

Honoka grimaced. “I hope so…” 

Trying to cheer her sister up, Yukiho patted Honoka on the shoulder. “It'll be alright, I'm sure! Hopefully it will die down soon.”

* * *

An hour had passed, and the snow was not relenting. Honoka hadn't heard from either Umi nor Kotori, and she was beginning to worry. She sent a text to the group chat with the three of them, attempting to make sure they were doing okay. 

“ _ are u guys alright? will u be here soon? _ ”

It took a few minutes, and in those few minutes Honoka had begun to panic, but eventually she received a response from Kotori. 

“ _ we are almost there! just give us about ten or fifteen more minutes _ .”

Relieved, Honoka sent a confirmation text to let Kotori know she would be waiting at the door for them. She began to prepare some more hot chocolate for when her friends would arrive. 

After about twelve minutes had passed, Honoka heard the doorbell ring, and she ran to go answer it. When she opened the door she saw her two friends absolutely covered in snow, with very weary expressions. 

“Come in already, you guys must be so cold!” Honoka said, ushering in both Umi and Kotori, wiping the snow off of them as best as she could. She took their jackets and hung them up in the nearby closet. 

The two girls walked in, small bags in hand. They each gave Honoka a hug and walked further inside, smiles on their faces. 

“Should we exchange presents now or should we save that for later?” Umi asked. 

“Hmm, maybe a bit later! I made you guys some hot chocolate to warm you up a bit. Drink that first.” Honoka responded, approaching the kitchen counter where she had left the two drinks for her friends.

The two girls perked up, eager to get something warm in their bellies. Honoka watched them both as they sipped slowly so as to not burn their mouths. They talked idly about their day for a while. 

“The weather was nice when Umi and I met up, but about halfway here it started snowing and got so windy!” Kotori complained, rubbing the side of her cup. 

Umi nodded. “Yes, it seems the weather worked against us today. We’re sorry we made you wait so long.”

Honoka shook her head, smiling. “It's not your fault! I'm just glad you got here safely. It's a good thing you're sleeping over tonight!”

Umi and Kotori both giggled. “Yeah, hopefully the weather clears up by tomorrow!” Kotori said optimistically.

“I'm sure it will.” Umi responded. “For now let’s focus on having fun today.”

“Yeah, I’m really excited to give you both your presents!!” Honoka exclaimed, her chest welling up with a soft warmth. 

The girls all laughed and enjoyed the last sips of their drink. Upon finishing, Honoka gestured for them to follow her to her room. 

* * *

With the three of them nestled close together on Honoka’s bed, Honoka suggested a three way game of rock paper scissors to decide who got to receive their presents first. Little did she know, however, that today she was in for a run of bad luck. She lost to both of friends, meaning she would get her presents last. Between Kotori and Umi, it took some time to decide a winner because the two kept throwing the same hands. Eventually however, Umi triumphed as the victor, beating Kotori with a rock against her scissors. 

“I can't believe I lost to Umi again! I always lose!” Kotori whined. 

Umi smiled smugly at her friend, confident in her abilities. “It takes a lot of skill to win against me, Kotori. I am surprised you lasted as long as you did.”

“Now you're just rubbing it in!” Kotori complained, puffing her cheeks up. “Meanie!” 

Honoka couldn't help but giggle. “Enough already, we're all winners in the end! Let's give Umi our gifts, Kotori.” 

Pouting, Kotori complied, taking out a small gift wrapped box from her bag. Honoka had grabbed both presents from her closet before sitting down, and so she presented Umi with a large gift wrapped box. Hers wasn't wrapped nearly as neatly as Kotori’s, which gave it that Honoka charm. 

Umi opened Kotori’s gift first, delicately peeling away the wrapping. It was a small box that looked as if there was some jewelry inside. When Umi opened it up, she was correct - inside was a silver ring with a small sapphire stone. She took it out, placing the ring on the index finger of her right hand. It fit perfectly, not too snug but not also too big either. Umi didn't usually wear jewelry, but she did remember mentioning to her friend that she wouldn't mind wearing a ring if it wasn't too “flashy”. The colour of it seemed to match her hair almost perfectly. 

“This is beautiful… thank you, Kotori.” 

Kotori smiled. “I'm glad you like it!” 

Focusing her attention on Honoka’s gift, Umi began unwrapping the paper that was clumsily holding together the box. It was difficult in some spots because Honoka had used so much tape, but she eventually got it undone. The box itself wasn't anything distinguishable - it was just a plain box with no writing or anything on it. When Umi opened it up, she saw a few things packed in brightly coloured tissue paper. 

The first she unwrapped was four bath bombs, each with a unique blue colour pattern. One resembled the waves of the ocean, one was a soft baby blue with one blob of darker blue in the middle, one was many different shades of blue which seemed to resemble a sunset, and one was simply a plain, violet blue with glitter inside. The next gift Umi unwrapped was a series of necklaces with an ocean theme. They were all silver but had a different trinket attached. One had a ships anchor, another had a seashell, and yet another had a dolphin. Finally, the last gift wrap held a book. It wasn't anything Umi recognized, but reading the back she discovered it was filled with various fictional short stories about the sea. 

“This was… incredibly thoughtful, Honoka. Thank you.”

Honoka smiled, her usual grin a bit softer than usual. “I know you really like the ocean, so I figured I’d get you some stuff like that. I'm glad you like it!” Pausing, Honoka turned to Kotori. “It's your turn now though, Kotori!”

Kotori smiled and nodded as both Umi and Honoka gave her their gifts. She opened Umi’s first, which was a huge, neatly wrapped box. She tore away at the wrapping, which eventually revealed the present without needing to open it. It was a brand new sewing machine! It was a Brother CS6000i Feature-Rich sewing machine, the exact brand that Kotori had been saving her money for. 

“Umi, this is amazing! Thank you so much!” Kotori exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. 

Umi nodded, a small smile on her own face. “I hope you continue to be happy making beautiful costumes for μ's!”

Turning her attention to Honoka’s gift, Kotori began to unwrap the clumsy gift wrapping. Honoka’s box was also pretty big, but it was plain after all the wrapping paper had been torn off, so Kotori had to open it up to see what was in it. There was a piece of bubblegum pink fabric inside, and when Kotori lifted it up and out of the box, it unfolded into a dress. It had t-shirt sleeves and looked to cut off at about mid thigh level, with a ruffled bottom. There was a white pattern on the neckline, imitating the look of a blouse, with a black bow at the top. Inside of the box was still more - a pair of pleated white thigh highs and a pair of black wedges that tied up with a buckle. The buckle itself was heart shaped. The outfit looked familiar, but Kotori had a hard time placing it...

“This is so cute, thank you Honoka!”

Honoka smiled, happy that her friend liked her gift. “Do you remember when we went to Harajuku a few months ago and tried on all those outfits? This is the one you wore! I also might have grabbed the outfit I had, too so we can match…”

“Aww, Honoka! The fact that you remembered makes me so happy!”

Honoka smiled widely, as her two friends suddenly gave her a conniving glare. 

“We apologize that it's only one gift, but Kotori and I thought we would combine our finances to get you something really big.” Umi explained. “We worked very hard to procure this you! It's not with us though… you'll have to ask Yukiho for it.”

Startled, Honoka blinked as she processed what was going on. Confused, she walked downstairs with Kotori and Umi not far behind her. She saw Yukiho cuddled up on the couch in the living room, watching television. When her sister saw her, she smiled, as if knowing what was going on. 

“You must be here for you present!” Yukiho exclaimed, throwing off the blankets that she had hiding under. “Follow me, it's in my room.” 

The three girls followed Yukiho to her room, Honoka the only completely clueless one. When Yukiho approached her door, she turned around. “Honoka, you're the one that must open the door.”

“Alright.” Honoka replied. She opened the door to Yukiho’s room, which, despite the time of day, was pitch black. When she turned on the lights, she was met with a surprise. 

“Merry Christmas!” A chorus of voices rang out, streamers and confetti raining down. 

“Eh? Everyone?” 

The rest of μ's greeted Honoka in Yukiho’s room, all holding christmas kazoos and blowing into them, which made a silly sound resound throughout the room. 

Kotori and Umi walked into the room themselves, and approached Honoka. 

“In truth, it was all of μ's that bought you a gift, Honoka.” Umi said, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

Kotori rest her own hand on Honoka’s other shoulder. “Would you like to know what that gift is?”

Looking at both of her friends, Honoka nodded her head excitedly. The two walked in the room, weaving their way past the other members. In the middle of the room was a giant teddy bear, even bigger than Honoka! It had to be at least six feet tall, and in front of it were a whole bunch of individually wrapped sweets, none of which seemed to be from Homura - they all looked homemade. There was also a whole slew of presents, each wrapped in unique paper. On top of that, there was a giant strawberry cake behind the sweets. It had vanilla icing with the fruit decorating the edges.

“Did you... all do this for me?” Honoka asked, shocked. 

“I asked everyone to contribute as much as they could.” Umi nodded. 

“I know we said we would all get together on New Years for gifts, but that was just to distract you from learning of our plan!” Kotori explained. “This is our first Christmas as a group, and we wanted it to be special.”

Umi continued. “Special, especially for you, Honoka. You’ve done so much for every single one of us. μ's wouldn't be here without you.”

“Umi… Kotori… Everyone…” Honoka trailed off, looking around the room at every member. They were all smiling at her, their kazoos in their hands. The mood had gotten serious and quiet until Nico spoke up. 

“Well, what are you waiting for!? Open your gifts so we can eat cake!”

Everyone laughed, but Nico wasn't finished. “And be sure to give us our gifts sometime, too, okay!?”

Honoka smiled, laughing. “Of course! I have all your gifts in my room.” Honoka then turned to Kotori and Umi. “Does this mean your gifts for me are here?”

“No silly!” Kotori responded. “That giant teddy bear is from us!”

Honoka was amazed, hugging both of her friends at the same time. She then sat down in front of all the presents and began picking one out to unwrap that had her name on it. The rest of μ's quickly gathered behind her to watch her unwrap her gift, as they all waited patiently for their own presents. 

Honoka could not have asked for a better Christmas with all of her beloved friends in μ's. They spent the entire day together, unwrapping gifts and eating cake. It had been decided that everyone would have a giant sleepover in Yukiho’s room, which remained decorated with decorations and the giant teddy bear. Each girl slept in a sleeping bag which they had all brought over, and in the morning they all left around noon, leaving Honoka and Yukiho to clean up the mess.

“Did you enjoy your Christmas this year?” Yukiho asked.

“Yeah, it was amazing!” Honoka responded. “I somehow managed to rope everyone into helping move that giant bear into my room.”

Yukiho grinned. “I’m glad you had a good time, sis. Hopefully next year will be even better!”

“Yeah.” Honoka replied, closing her eyes and smiling. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking what her friends would come up with next. “I’m sure it will be.”


End file.
